Akira glanced at Jonas that had spoken with a seemingly sarcastic tone. He stared at him before saying "It doesn't, but who knows what happened. Besides, if he got this roughed up, then it means this place isn't that much safe."

Akira kneeled to both knees to be at the same level as Carwyn and the Aeromancer, Hoshiko.

Takara smiled and nodded at Aya's remarks. "Both Katsuro and I are familiar with the effects of Dreamweed," she said. Katsuro grinned.

"Finally, some payback!" he announced. Pointing a finger to his mother, he said, "She passed out in it. I had to pull her out... and in the process started seeing some very strange things."

"One of the few instances where he gets to gloat," Takara laughed softly. "Typically, I rescue him from various dangers. At any rate, we know what to avoid now."

Aya smiled softly at the boy's pride at besting his mother. Her brother, Rui, would have done the very same.

"There are lots of dangers out in the wild," she agreed with Takara. "One of the main reasons why it's best to travel to Ryuu-Tokai in the company of others. Although, after I get there and sell my goods, I'll probably have to take the road North on my own. Not a lot of caravans travel that way, but that's where it's easiest to acquire those fancy old trinkets that all the nobles crave down South."

She reached inside the collar of her dress and pulled out a battered donut-shaped coin, with ancient symbols carved along its edges, attached to a cord looped through the center hole. "Sort of like this," she said, extending it out from around her neck for Takara to see, "only not so beat up looking. If this thing was in better condition, I could get about 100 Akebono dinar for it. But as it is...." She snorted as she looked a the beat up coin, then tucked the homemade pendant back inside her clothes. "I'd be extremely lucky to get a tenth of a one. Makes a nice good luck charm though," she added.

There was still quite a crowd gathered around the unconscious Xan, and Aya began to take more interest. "You know, maybe Xan didn't succumb to the effects of the Dreamweed," she said thoughtfully. "There are still an awful lot of people gathered around him." She craned her neck hoping to see better. "And I think that Aeromancer's injured, too."

She looked over at Takara, then at Katsuro. She wanted to ask if Takara was indeed wild animals that had attacked Xan, but she didn't want to panic Katsuro in case the answer was no.

"Does anyone has a piece clean of cloth for bandages?" the vagabond monk asked.

Aya looked over at Bob, standing quietly at the back of the tent. She had bolts of cloth, but it was to sell in Ryuu-Tokai. Still, she thought, it wouldn't hurt to give the monk a yard or two for bandages. The bolt wouldn't be worth as much, but....

"I've got some," Aya called out to him. She rose. "I'll be right back," she said to Takara and Katsuro. She hurried over to Bob, rummaged through her pack and found what she was looking for. Not having a sharp enough knife to cut the cloth readily to hand, she carried the entire bolt over to where the others stood around the injured guard and mage.

She hadn't seen the blood on the guard's armour from over at her fire, and she paled at the sight. There was a lot of it, and when she heard someone mention 'bandits', she said a hushed prayer to the gods that the blood wasn't all his. No matter how gruff and grumpy he had was, she didn't wish anything bad to happen to him.

"Here," she said offering the entire bolt of fine linen up to Bora Cho. "You can use this." She frowned worriedly. "Only someone else is going to have to cut it into strips."

Aya nodded to Jonus and handed over the bolt of cloth to him, her eyes transfixed on the bloodied Xan.

"Excuse me," she said, slowly backing away. She felt as if she were going to be suddenly sick, and she had no intention of becoming the next spectacle for the crowd. "I've... I've got to go."

She turned and left hurriedly, heading towards where Bob was tied. But once there, she passed Bob and ran for a large bush well away from the sight or sound of others or the glowing amber light of the blazing fire.

She wasn't a warrior. She wasn't used to the sight of blood. Or the smell of it. So, behind the bush, she quietly wretched.

"Thank you . " : said Bora Cho to the friendly women who offered him a bolt of cloth .

" And thank you to.": he said to the other offering his dagger to cut the pieces .

Bora Cho smeered the paste on the wounds , all by all they where not life threathening , small cuts , scratches and some bruses from blunt weapons .

" Isn't it funny , this war-monger is helping us to become a fine family , though he almost started a fight this after-noon . " : said Bora Cho while wrapping around the bandage around the head of Xan .

" He'll be fine , I think it takes more to kill this man then mere bandits . "

Bora Cho got up and looked at his work . Without his armor and helmet he looked almost human .

"He got attacked by bandits. Or else, just a bunch of people who didn't like his impeccable sense of humor," Hoshiko replied to Akira.

This caused Carwyn to chuckle quietly as he sat to the aeromancer's right side. Lifting her hand away, he lightly felt the place where she'd been holding it. She winced as he did that. "Sorry," he said as he tried to be more careful. There wasn't any blood, so the injury was internal. Probably bruised ribs, caused by an errant fist or foot in the midst of the fray. "Nothing too bad, I don't think. Just a bruise that'll clear up in a day or two, with some care." He gave Hoshiko an encouraging smile as he stood up. "I'll try and find something cold for you to put on that," he said, and was off quickly.

As soon as he was past the milling caravan members, he drew his bow again and quietly started to circle the camp, intent on making sure that there were no more surprises waiting out there to hurt his friends.

John quickly cut the bandages so it would fit and handed it to Bora Cho, "Now if you excuse me." Jonas said before running after Aya.

Aya heard someone approaching, but as Bob didn't whicker a warning to her, she knew it was someone friendly. She quicky wiped her sleeve over her mouth. "I'm fine," she said quickly to whomever was approaching. "Just... answering nature's call."

She stood up from behind the bush, smoothed her skirt, and tucked away the wispy strands of dark hair that had come loose from her braid.

"Oh, it's you," she said, recognising Jonas. She smiled at him. "Erm... you don't have anything to drink on you, do you?"

Kyo had caught a glimpse of Aya's pendant, and his brow furrowed. It was a strange thing for a merchant like her to have...

Then the commotion started. He stood and moved out of the way, listening into the conversation for a moment.

So it had been bandits...

Quietly slipping away from the others, Kyo knew he'd go unnoticed as he moved over to the sight of the carnage, drawing his blade. He moved around the bodies, poking them with his sword and turning them over. He was looking...

Hm. These were the Black Moon bandits, judging by the black, circular tattoo on each of their upper right forearms. He had no buisness with them.

The water was cool and fresh, and Aya drank greedily to soothe her throat. "Thanks," she said gratefully. "I needed that."

She handed the canteen back to him. "You want to come over and sit by Takara and Katsuro and me? We were waiting for Toa to make his s'mores, but... " She grinned. "Figure I'd make us up some stew in the meantime. What do you say? You want to join us?"

Toa was angry now, the fire in his eyes more intense. He was creating a volcano delicacy that these people were going to have for the fist time and now bandits were ruining the moment. He sat cross-legged in front of the fire and closed his eyes, the fire suddenly flaring up higher and hotter. The fire soldiers grew into the six ft deadly fire soldiers and they left the vicinity of the fire into the forest. They lit up the forest with their bodies, and there were about 20 of them all around. They didn't need to worry about starting a fire, as Toa had control over all the fire in the area at the moment.

"Staring out into space isn't so bad," Aya said to Jonas as they walked towards Bob. "Bob does it all the time, and he's no worse for wear for it."

She patted Bob on the neck, then rumbled around in one of her packs. "Here," she said, passing back an iron pot to Jonas. "Hold this." She rumbled around more and pulled out some bowls, some spoons, and a few carrots, which she handed to Jonas as well. Next came some onions, then a handful of flavourful herbs, a couple of large turnips, a parsnip, a bag of salt, and a small, brown wrapped package containing dried beef. "There that should do it!"

She turned around, noticing that Jonas was practically buried in vegetables. "Oh! Sorry!" she apologized. "Let me take some of that."

The load now split, she led Jonas back to the campfire to make the stew.

After making a few rounds of the camp, Carwyn was satisfied that there were no other bandits hiding in the darkness. He shouldered his bow and trekked his way back into camp, shivering as a gust of cold wind blew over him. Shoot, looks like it's going to be a chilly night...

Rubbing his arms, he quickened his pace and entered the encampment proper, thankful for the numerous campfires that provided warmth. He drew a metal drinking flask from his belt as he approached Hoshiko. He wrapped it in another spare piece of cloth he had and offered it to the aeromancer. "Here you go, Hosh," he said. "I found a small stream a little ways out of the camp and the water was pretty cold, so this should help with that bruise."

"Well, let's see...." Aya pondered Jonas' question. "Wow, eleven years," she said with some astonishment. "That seems like such a long time, doesn't it?" She shrugged. "Anyway... stew."

She began to assemble the ingredients, including some of Jonas' spring water, into the pot. Then she put the lid on it, and set it in the embers of the fire in front of her tent. "There. That'll cook in no time."

She sat down next to Takara and Katsuro again, inviting Jonas to sit with them as well.

"Hope you like my beef stew," she said to Katsuro. "I'm not a gourmet chef, but I've never made a meal I couldn't eat." Bob let out a bellowing whinny, and Aya frowned at him. "That doesn't count, Bob!" she answered him crossly. "No one told me that you had to remove the spines before you cooked them." She gave a sideways glance at Takara, then Jonas. "Sea urchins," she replied with a shrug. "Go figure."

Kyo had finished piling the bodies in the shelter of underbrush, blocking the grusome picture from the sight of others. He would have to burn them later, when the caravan had moved on...

He cleaned off his blade on the ground, removing his blood-spattered gloves and sticking them in the side of his belt before resheathing his sword.

It was curious that a group of bandits such as this would try and attack the caravan - espeically with the caravan's hired muscle standing right there. A foolish tactic, to be sure - as it proved to be. But still...very strange.

He knew that there were several groups of bandits that roamed The Continent, most of them hardly minor threats to a caravan the size of this, especially with so many fighters traveling with it. The Black Moon bandits, however...they were one of the larger syndicates. So that such a small group would attack so randomly...

He shook his head. He would have to think about it later. For now, he would return to camp.

Aya saw Kyo walking into camp--alone. She sighed. Not that she was worried that he couldn't take care of himself, but she was worried that he might be lonely. He seemed to keep to himself most of the time, but whether that was his choice or just his habit, she didn't know. But it was time to find out.

She waved to him. "Hey, Kyo," she called out to him. "You hungry? We've got beef stew. There's plenty to share." She glanced down at the pot, where small puffs of steam were beginning to escape in irregular intervals from underneath the lid. "Erm, when it's cooked, that is," she added sheepishly.

"Hope you like my beef stew," she said to Katsuro. "I'm not a gourmet chef, but I've never made a meal I couldn't eat." Bob let out a bellowing whinny, and Aya frowned at him. "That doesn't count, Bob!" she answered him crossly. "No one told me that you had to remove the spines before you cooked them." She gave a sideways glance at Takara, then Jonas. "Sea urchins," she replied with a shrug. "Go figure."

Takara frowned thoughtfully. Then, she shook her head and laughed softly. "I can't believe in all my travels I've never had sea urchins..."

The words were soft, almost inaudible. It seemed more like Takara was speaking to herself. Shaking her head and smiling, she turned her head to see her son, seated there next to her.

"Ah, stew, one of my most apreciatted foods. Maybe it's smell will attract Xan to here," Akira joked, chuckling and waiting for the stew to cook. It smelled great, but his eyes where on Kyo, once again. He was out for a little while with no reason, and while some may haven't noticed it, he had noticed it.

"You're not missing much," Aya replied to Takara. She faced Katsuro. "A sea urchin is a creature that crawls around on the bottom of the sea... well, it sort of crawls. Not like a snake or snail, but it has these long, spindly, spikey spines all over, and it crawls about with them. But it lives on the bottom of the sea at any rate. Oh, and in rock pools by the coast, when the tide washes them in."

She sighed then, knowing that she was sounding like a blathering idiot. "Anyway, they're about this big," she cupped her hand, "and they taste kind of fishy/salty/sweety. When they're prepared right," she added, biting her lip. "You're supposed to scrape off the spines and shell them first, but no one told me that. " She rolled her eyes. "Like I was supposed to just know that. I ended up with spine soup instead of urchin chowder."

Akira had come over, apparently enticed by the scent of the cooking stew.

"Ah, stew, one of my most apreciatted foods. Maybe it's smell will attract Xan to here."

Aya grinned. "It's certainly has a more appealing aroma than urchin chowder," she said, winking at Katsuro. "Have a seat, Akira," she invited.

Startled at her 'thinking out loud' being answered, Takara blinked. "Oh..." She shook her head and couldn't help but laugh at the puzzled look on Katsuro's face.

"Sounds like one of the stranger creatures alive," he muttered. Takara reached out a hand and ruffled his hair, turning slightly as she did so and keeping her knife just out of sight. It almost looked like she had experience concealing her weapons.

"There are many strange things in the world, Katsuro," she said. And then, her ears caught Kyo's words and she turned, resuming her initial position, cloak folded over itself in front of her, waiting to hear Aya's response.

Carwyn strode over to his spot by the fire and plopped himself down on his coat. He shuffled a little closer to the fire and put his hands close to the flames to warm them up. Glancing over towards Aya, he saw that she had a small crowd around her, including the quiet swordsman who called himself Kyo. She certainly has a way around people, he thought. Probably what makes her a good merchant.

He wished ruefully that he hadn't thrown all of his brandy away, but he'd needed to carry the cold water in something for Hoshiko and his flask was the only container he'd had on his person at the time. He wasn't one to drink very much, but he kept the flask around for cold nights such as this. Exhaling, he shrugged to himself and decided that he preferred Hoshiko's well-being over his warmth.

Aya's brow raised in mild surprise, not from the question, but from who asked it. "The red or green ones aren't poisonous," she said matter-of-factly to all concerned. "The green ones taste kind of sweet when they're cooked, but it's the roe that is really tasty. But," she added quickly, "you don't cook that. And the red ones are especially prized for their aphrodi...." She paused, as Katsuro was staring at her with intense interest. She cleared her throat, feeling a flush rise in her cheeks. "For their rarity," she ended up saying.

Carwyn sat down near the fire to warm his hands, and Aya saw it as the perfect opportunity to change the subject. "So, how is our guard and the mage?" she asked him. "Are they okay?"

Even was enjoying the stew. As a rule, he liked beef stew, and most foods with beef in it. He noticed the light show taking place in the woods, and Xan being dragged back into camp full of bruises. "Serves 'im right." Even muttered to himself. The Bandits couldn't have chosen a better time. He might not even go after them to get his bribe money back. He was comfortable with his stew by the fire, and it was about worth it to see the guard getting the other side of the big stick.

"The beauty and genius of a work of film may be reconceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished fiction may yet again inspire the screenplay-writer; but when the last individual of a race of living directors, of artists, breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again." -William Beebe, modified in memorial of the twentieth century

"I think so," Carwyn told Aya. "Our tin man with the absolutely charming bedside manner is looking all patched up, thanks to that monk over there. And Hoshiko should be fine too, she just got a little shook up. Probably waiting by Xan for him to wake up so she can gloat over how she saved his big brass butt."

As Aya began to explain why the red urchins were valued, Takara tensed almost imperceptibly, all too aware of her son's attention to detail. Then, when Aya's words faltered and she finished her sentence differently, the mother relaxed. In her deep blue eyes, there was a hidden message for the merchant. Thank you.

Hoshiko stalked over and stood beside Carwyn. "Hardly," she said, in response to his statement about waiting next to Xan, then smiled at him and handed him his flask. "Thanks." Her side was fine now that the initial pain had worn off, although she was going to be extremely careful not to bump it for a few days.

Aya winked at Takara, acknowledging her silent message. She knew all too well how young ears listened.

"And Hoshiko should be fine too," said Carwyn. "She just got a little shook up. Probably waiting by Xan for him to wake up so she can gloat over how she saved his big brass butt."

Aya saw Hoshiko over Carwyn's shoulder and she remainded diplomatically silent until the mage announced her own arrival.

"I'm glad to see that you're up and walking about," Aya said to her. "And even though he'll probably still be a grump, I'm glad that Xan's going to be all right, too. But he looked really...." She paused, as her stomach did a flip flop from remembering the bloodied sight. She frowned suddenly.

"...raw?" She cocked a curious eyebrow as Even greedily devoured a bowl of the stew. She cleared her throat to get his attention. "Erm... Even? You might enjoy that stew even more when it's thoroughly cooked," she gently suggested. "In about twenty minutes from now."